Budget Paper No.2 Fiscal and Economic Outlook 2008-2009
Tabled paper 1293
Tabled papers for 10th Assembly 2005 - 2008; Tabled papers; ParliamentNT
2008-05-06
Tabled By Delia Lawrie
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/283912
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/410393
33 Prudent Management of Liabilities Target: Net Debt and Employee Liabilities as a Proportion of Total Revenue to Fall This element of the fiscal strategy aims to ensure that debt is prudently managed, taking into consideration service delivery needs and capital investment to promote social wellbeing and economic growth. This is particularly important for the Territory given its greater infrastructure requirements relative to other jurisdictions, due to its remoteness and stage of development, which result in higher levels of debt than other jurisdictions. Chart 3.2 compares the ratio of Territory debt to revenue with the average of the other jurisdictions for 2001-02 to 2010-11. The chart illustrates the Territorys significant improvement since 2001-02 and the maintenance of this position at a time when the states are estimating an increase in debt levels. Source: State and Territory budget and outcome reports. State forward estimates based on mid-year reports. The measures of net debt and net debt plus employee liabilities provide the means of assessing the Territorys performance against this target. Table 3.8 shows that net debt for the non financial public sector is projected to increase in absolute terms until 2010-11, in line with Power and Water Corporations capital investment and Closing the Gap initiatives, before declining to $1676 million in 2011-12. All forward estimates are nevertheless below the 2001-02 level of $1753 million as well as the 2007-08 Budget estimates. When measured as a percentage of revenue, it is anticipated that the ratio will remain largely constant between 36 to 38 per cent, significantly below the 67 per cent recorded in 2001-02. Chart 3.2: State and Territory Net Debt to Revenue Non Financial Public Sector 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 % ActualNorthern Territory State Average Estimate Estimate Actual